- Swimming For Stress Relief
- Swimming Accessories
- Swimming as Meditation
- Breathwork
My first international trip since before the pandemic is just around the corner and I couldn’t be more excited! Yet the logistics that I am running through in preparation are taking the yield.
It’s not only myself traveling this time, but also my mother. It will be the first time traveling abroad together since our initial trip to Europe in 2014. So to say I’m excited is an understatement yet I have hardly been able to express it since the work to manifest it is still in play. It’s not only my checklist, however my mothers checklist too.
The list feels endless, and recently I’m finding myself coordinating to do’s throughout my day, ie; move out of the storage unit, find and book a shipper for my motorbike, re-home the two birds, and on and on….I do feel fortunate however, logistics is a natural state of mine.
With all this going on, I vitally need to employ outlets to relieve the stress. And lately that place has been the pool. I started swimming laps in college. Since I really didn’t know how to swim, and I didn’t want to leave my youth without this basic skill, I took over 8 semesters of swim class.
Today as an adult I find this leisure sport the best way to let the body and mind go and to find my zen-full place of peace.
Here’s how I get in the zone and allow this practice to feel like meditation. First there is the equipment. Swim goggles, of course, and anyone with hair longer than bangs will want to use a swim cap. For me, I take it a few steps further. Ever since I started using a nose plug I don’t have the worry of that feeling of water in my head. It can be so uncomfortable and distracting with the unpleasant feeling of the pressure water in the air passage. Problem solved with a simple nose plug!
And finally to top off my zen-full experience, earplugs. Once both the nose and ears are covered, the pressure in the body changes, and it is very easy to go inside. Once those distractions are cut off, the outside world turns off. A quick rinse in the lukewarm shower followed by a plunge into the pool, I become fully immersed in my quiet, happy place where in just moments my breath will take focus.
Right off I need to establish my pace. It’s so easy to dunk in and set off racing without setting the pace. This can quickly lead to a fast heart rate and hard breathing. I, on the other hand, choose a slow and steady pace. Some days I feel as if I am going at a snail’s pace, yet I know the pace is what sets in my zen.
The simple freestyle strokes and gentle kicking move me through the water. Every time I pull back my left arm I turn my head to take in a shallow breath. It’s this rhythmic exercise that leads to my relaxation. At the end of each lap I sight the wall, draw my arms out to the side and start my summersault. I am in bliss as I tumble in the water, plant my feet against the wall and then kick, propelling my body in the opposite direction, I glide as I take flight through the water, hands together out front and little kicks with the feet. It’s this part of the swim that keeps me excited to complete the next lap. I LOVE the flipping, rolling, tumbling and gliding. It feels so playful and childlike, it amuses my soul!
After a few laps I am in the zone. There’s a primordial sense that captures my body. I am in my bliss. The strokes and breaths almost become mechanical, like I am not doing anything at all; like I could do this forever and never tire nor bore from this frolic. In these moments I feel only sheer gratitude as all of my stresses literally float away!!
I am illuminated and charged by the sun. I am captured by the embrace of the water. Life feels restored with every little breath I take. I forget everything as my head is emptied of the checklists, chores and to do lists. I feel as if I am in another reality, like I am out of my body. Something so profound happens in this exercise, I am completely transformed. So much washes away, leaving me feeling refreshed, new, vital, and strong. It’s my own renaissance.
I am reborn.
